Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has raised fresh concerns that illegal iGaming is on the rise in the country after new data revealed an increase in player accounts but a fall in gross gaming revenue (GGR).
The report covers the first six months of 2025, through to the end of June. Key data in the report showed that overall GGR for online gaming in the Netherlands hit €600 million ($695 million), down 16% from the final six months of 2024.
Online casino games were by far the most popular among consumers. Sports betting came next, then peer-to-peer casino games and horse race betting.
KSA said this decline was partly down to overhauled responsible gambling rules in the country. These include new deposit limit settings for online players, with players now restricted as to how much they can wager with each operator.
But the regulator also flagged a rise in player accounts. The average number of active online accounts per month reached 1.29 million in H1, up from 1.18 million in the latter part of last year. Of these accounts, an average of 7.1% were new.
KSA said players were likely creating more accounts across several different operators so that they could deposit and gamble more. Once they reach a limit with one operator, they cannot deposit again until this resets. Spreading their activity across numerous websites opens up more play options.
‘Worrying’ trend in illegal online gambling
However, of most concern to KSA was illegal website activity. While it said channelisation – the percentage of people gambling with legal operators – was stable at approximately 94%, the amount of revenue going into unlicensed sites continued at upward trend.
By the end of H1, total revenue going to legal sites dipped from 51% in H2 2024 to 49%. KSA said this could be partly explained by users shifting to illegal sites to avoid the new player protection rules. Illegal operators are not governed by the same rules as licensed sites, with customers able to spend without limits.
“KSA considers this a worrying development, as players in the illegal market are much less well protected,” the regulator said.
Another issued flagged by the regulator was in reference to the age of players. Figures for H1 showed people aged 18 to 24 accounted for 23% of all accounts used during the half. This, KSA said, was high as the group only represents 9.3% of the Dutch adult population.
However, the regulator did note that those in the group tended to lose far less than older players. On average, the loss for those aged 18 to 24 was €37, compared to €78 for adults.
Overall, an estimated 839,000 active players were active with legal providers during the first six months of 2025. This meant 5.7% of the adult population gambled legally online, up from 5.4% in H2 of last year.
Gross gaming revenue in H1 fell 16% from the second half of 2024.